Meet A Rare Giant: Rolex Ref. 4113 ‘Split-Seconds’

Some vintage watches hold the power to elevate your heartbeat whenever you see them. Such a watch is the Rolex Ref.4113′ Split-Seconds.’ Made in extremely limited numbers, with the one featured in this article leaving the Rolex manufacture in 1942, in the midst of World War II, it is a watch unlike any other. Many things contribute to its unique character, starting with the diameter of its stainless steel case, which is 44mm. For a watch made in the mid-1940s, this is not large but huge.

An explanation for this can be found in the function of the watch. Rolex is utilizing the large size mainly for the dial, allowing it to include an easy to read tachymeter and telemeter scale. Three buttons are situated on the right side of the case, with one integrated into the crown. They operate the split-second chronograph, a complication not too common for Rolex.

While this watch is already impressive just for its features, does it not stop there. The Ref. 4113 ‘Split-Seconds’ was never officially offered for sale by Rolex but believed to have been given to race-car drivers, with who Rolex was involved with at the time. Given the size of the watch, it is likely that they either wore over their race suit or that it was operated by somebody from the team in the pits. Only twelve have been made, and the origin of three is still unknown.

Apart from being such a highly collectible watch, it is also it’s unique appearance that can easily win you over. The stainless steel case has a very thin, almost delicate bezel, and the silver dial has turned over time to a cream tone. The applied hour markers are modest in size, making the watch even larger in appearance. All the functions are perfectly spaced out and easy to read, especially the telemeter and tachymeter scales.

With so little examples made, it cannot come as a surprise that we are looking here at one of the most desirable vintage Rolex, with a value to match. As it doesn’t come up for auction that often, it makes it that collectors have to strike when one does, or run the risk of having to wait years for another one to surface. Auctioneer Phillips had sold two in the last decade, most recently in 2019, when the Ref.4113 with case number 051’318 fetched CHF 1,940,000. This was substantially less than the one with case number 051’314, which was hammered off at CHF 2,405,000 three years earlier. The reason for this was that the dial off the latter was in much better condition, making it even more desirable than its sibling.